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Actually, RedOctane still sells the old PS2 Guitars for $40, in both red and black.

Actually, RedOctane still sells the old PS2 Guitars for $40, in both red and black.

I've tried a few different game pads for the computer and haven't liked any of them. Recently I picked up the Red Octane Universal Adapter for my PS2 controller. It is great.

If, like me, you think that the PS2 controller is the best on the market right now, it's very much worth the $20.

How can you support a company that sells its own DDR pads, yet sues a company making wireless controllers?

According to the RedOctane website, the GH2 bundle ships with their SG controller.

Use your feet to click your mouse.

Seriously. Get a Smart Joy adapter and a Reload Pedal, and remap the joystick input to mouse click... though you may have to unscrew the top and cut the spring in half for easier clicking, like I did. Alternatively, get a mouse with very large buttons, remove the trackball / tape over the sensor, and leave it on the floor as a secondary mouse. Both sets of clicks will register.

The key to RSI, is to not find one "optimal" solution. Switch keyboards and mice throughout the day. Change your position completely. Walk over and talk to someone about a spec they had written. Put your feet up. Take your feet down. Really, the reason we get RSI is because we do one thing repeatedly. No matter how ergonomic that one sitting position or wrist angle may be, if you stay fixed in that position eventually your ligaments and joints will break down. Change position, take coffee breaks, mouse lefty for a little, turn your body to the side... anything to keep from falling into the trap of the one perfect body position.

An older DIY design is here, and Riptide's videos as well. Build costs are estimated at 140 and 200 dollars. One more here.

The main problem with the InventGeek design is that it doesn't appear to have any tactile feedback. You need the subtle height differences to be able to read with your feet. Also, you want the standing surface in the middle to be solid metal (unless you're going to play Pump It Up, as that provides further feedback.

It also doesn't use any vertical crossbeams in the pads, leading to sensor and support disparity. This is why the base is generally built out of wood, or a bit more metal. That keeps the right side of the left sensor feeling the same as the up, down, and left sides. As it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if stepping on the right side of the left sensor crushed the pad material for a permanent button-down signal. Or if the acrylic began to bow there.

For that matter, generally you want Lucite or Lexan for the deck. Hard as hell, and going to take it for a while. But people have successfully used other things.

And if you're going to buy metal, you want a Cobalt Flux. Unless you're more casual / like your knees, at which point get an ignition. Most of the 150 metal mats will leave you disappointed, especially compared to the Cobalt. Though I've heard the 200 ninja is ok too.

Solid? Not really. The metal dance pads they sell at lik sang use acrylic buttons, which have been shown to crack after any extensive use. For metal pads, I'd go to Red Octane or Cobalt Flux

I forgot to mention the other thing I want.

I want to be able to plug in this alongside of this, using both in the same game.

And it'd be real nice if you could also use this, and set it up as a bank of effects pedals, with one of 'em kicking off "rock out" mode.

It might just be better for all concerned if they leave this peripheral out for now, though.

I forgot to mention the other thing I want.

I want to be able to plug in this alongside of this, using both in the same game.

And it'd be real nice if you could also use this, and set it up as a bank of effects pedals, with one of 'em kicking off "rock out" mode.

It might just be better for all concerned if they leave this peripheral out for now, though.

I forgot to mention the other thing I want.

I want to be able to plug in this alongside of this, using both in the same game.

And it'd be real nice if you could also use this, and set it up as a bank of effects pedals, with one of 'em kicking off "rock out" mode.

It might just be better for all concerned if they leave this peripheral out for now, though.

From the picture in the article it appears that they're using the red octane metal pad which usually costs about ~$200 each. Makes sense, when we're talking about middle and high schoolers it's best to get something that can hold up to a bit of a beating.

I'm actually trying to collect random computer stickers for my Guitar Hero controller. The game box comes with a sheet of stickers that you can use to decorate the guitar controller, but they're fairly boring and generic. I want one that stands out a bit more.

Dance Dance Revolution and it's varients.

This is just the first link I found... There are lots of DDR pads out there for home use, some of them really fancy and completely on par with the arcade ones (although they will cost a bundle).

Similarly, you can find rather involved home driving interfaces if you are into driving... Really, most of the out-of-the-ordinary arcade interfaces are available for home use, as well.

Ah, but I can at least get an adaptor to plug console controllers into my PC. That's just a few minutes searching the web, I'm sure there's an X-Box version out there somewhere too...

Yeah I have the Commodore 64 version installed on my Xbox. I still think that is the definative version.
If you don't have an old joystick around and you want to get the classic feel - you can always get a Classic Joystick - full Atari style with a USB connector.

We just got into DDR this Christmas. Money is tight at the moment but the next scheduled luxury purchase is now a RedOctane dance mat, the soft $100 one. We have a cheaper one now and it is now ruining my score from false triggering (just sitting there with nobody on it, it fires) and not releasing the trigger correctly. (I'm on the verge of getting the easy AAA's in Light mode and starting to move up to Standard, but the pad makes that impossible.)

I think the key is to avoid the Education Game Trap (it's quite similar); the quickest way to a crappy "educational" game is to take the same-old, same-old and bolt it on to one of the Stardard Generic Game Frameworks. "Answer this math question to advance one space closer to the end." Woohoo, mommy can I please play "Advance The Squares"?

Similarly, I've seen people bolt a crappy racing game onto an exercise bike that in essense consisted of a line advancing forward that you had to stay ahead of, or lose. Woohoo, mommy can I please play "Finish The Boring Task In The Alloted Time"?

DDR isn't trying to make you exercise, but if you expect to play at the higher levels, you'll be sweating.

I'd also love to see a traditional car combat or 'kart' racing game that ran on a bike that you could turn, that used your pedaling as the acceleration with adjustable levels. See, the fun would be the cart game, the exercise the means to an end, instead of the explicit and boring goal.

I thought I didn't like to exercise. Turns out it was the boredom of doing laps that was killing me (semi-literally).

The real world works like this, too, after all, so this should hardly be a shock. Which is more fun, running a mile for no real reason, or a game of soccer, basketball, or water polo? Why do people insist that exercise has to be boring? That's really a relatively recent "innovation", you know. Maybe there's a reason that innovation has coincided with people dying due to lack of exercise?

Here you go!

After my kids got hooked on DDR at a Nickel-Nickel arcade, I called Red Octane who makes one of the best DDR dance pads available. They were very helpful. I bought a bundle with Konami's DDR MAX 2 and Red Octane's Ignition 2.0 Pad. The dance pad has sensors over the entire area, and doesn't slip on the floor (the cheap mats do slip & wear out quickly). Konami makes DDR games for PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, XBox, & PC. There is a USB adapter available (about $15 US) to connect the dance pad to play the PC version. The game comes with several levels, probably 100 songs, & can be enjoyed by beginners and up. The game also also has a training mode to teach technique, and a workout mode. Konami is releasing version 3 of DDR Max this fall.

It does everything the ZVUE does and LOTS more and it has a huge developer following and TONS of apps you can DL for free like console/arcade emulators, MP3 players, PIMs, etc. ) Brian

To top it off, it comes with a conversion box, so if a buddy feels like getting a real good work hauling his XBox over, you can plug that into the same pad for some DDR UltraMix action.

While we're on the subject, I recommend the RedOctane Ignition Pad 2.0. 2 inches of foam = not nearly as much slippage as flimsy soft pads, which you can wear out within a couple months.

Redoctane didn't get mentioned, but for $18.95 you get 2 games at a time, and they have a number of import games for the fanatics who want to play the games everyone else will be playing next year, but don't want to pay the $50-$70+ or so to import them.

I haven't used them personally so I can't say how their service is.

From their description of their service, it looks like you put together a wish list, and they send you games from that list when(if) they become available. Browsing through their list, they only have import sections for the dreamcast, playstation, and playstation 2, and it looks like a number of imports have been "misplaced". Looking through the ps2 titles shows they really haven't been keeping up with the times. They probably discovered that its a lot more expensive when the import games keep "disappearing" in transit than the American versions. (You'd think they'd switch to some kind of certified mail, or at least shipping with delivery confirmation...) Not to mention the support hassles from idiots who don't understand whats needed to play an imported game.

I'd probably think about it if they started tracking shipments and smacking the people who screw them (and the rest of the service users) over, and if they got some imported game cube and xbox games in, as well as newer ps2 titles. Until then they don't have much over blockbusters, seeing as most of the import titles they haven't lost yet are out in the US in English.

You could use the PSX to Dreamcast controller adapter to play the wonderful dreamcast version of the original Soul Calibur in style.

Pump it up is another PC version (only for Windows). But you can buy the pad and software in a bundle for pretty cheap.

There was also a previous Initial D for the PSX ca 2000, also import only. Here's a link. It doesn't appear that there's any relation between that game and the current one, other than the obvious.

I got to try that one out briefly and was disoriented by the idea of racing during daylight. It didn't seem right as the races from the show were almost exclusively at night.

-h3

Nintendo's "Power Pad" dance pad may have been built poorly.

But that doesn't mean other companies can't make a good dance pad.

Another similar game rental site Red Octane It's only 18.95 a month as opposed to the 21.95 charged by GameFly

The difference here is that DDR isn't your "typical" peripheral game. It's an obsession. None of the peripherals you mention above had the soft of following that DDR does. You don't see the Power Glove in Sketchers commercials on MTV.

You can buy cheap DDR pads from the mall, but there's a whole industry of much better pads, really great pads, and custom, homemade pads. Cottage industries like this don't crop up without the following to support them.

It's not unusual for people without room in their house to drag a TV out to their garage to play. There's DDR clubs at colleges. DDR's been used in high schools as an alternate gym class activity.

DDR is a Whole Thing.

Peh, why not play DDR or something similar? Alot more challenging, and alot better workout. Don't like the high impact? Why not try PPP? Like ddr, only with hand waving and arm movements rather than alot of stomping.

I've been playing Dance Dance Revolution since the end of may of this year, and I can attest that it is indeed an addictive game, and a fairly fun one at that. When I started I, like so many technically inclined people, had absolutely no rhythm. DDR can be an aid for developing rhythm (most songs are in 4/4 time, there are a few exceptions). Here's a little info for those who haven't played or might be interested:

DDR is a great way to lose weight, when you get good you'll be sweating from just one song, granted it may be an expensive diet (see below for cheaper ways to play)

DDR can be basically free: there are a number of projects dedicated to bringing DDR to the PC (Konami released a version...but it isn't better than some of the freely available ones). There is Dance With Intensity, Diet Diet Revolution, and my personal favorite (also a sourceforge project), Stepmania, www.stepmania.com. You can play with the keyboard, but chances are you don't want to burn fat from just your fingers. You can build a dance pad (you even get a fun hardware project doing this!), you can find links and help on the forums on www.ddrfreak.com - ddrfreak also provides a nice little script that will spit out all the steps for a song, and another script that shows all known machine locations in the US! If you are lazy (what?) you can buy Konamix (available at www.redoctane.com or Electronics Boutique, and some other places). It runs on a PS1, so you can use the ps2 to play it. You can get a very good (IMO) dance pad from www.redoctane.com for about $100, the ignition 2.0 pad is excellent. You can go with cheaper ones if you wish, but you'll be very frustrated when your skills improve, the mat sticks to your free, and you flop around like a fish out of water.

I know people who saw others playing DDR and thought it was easy, wow, you step on a little pad when an arrow hits the template...their views quickly changed when they played the game. For new players it can be very difficult, but once you are over that little peak you can really start to have fun. I enjoy the challenge of playing more difficult songs.

Some time ago at school we pluged a DDR pad (those sold by Red Octane) in the computer (using the paralel port) and make some key bindings(using two programs that i dont remember rigth now), and we found that its really fun to play Quake2 (we hadn't quake3 yet) using the DDR pad to move and using a 3-button mouse to fire, strafe and jump (or course timing was a BIG problem, but its still fun) but of course it takes hours just to get used to the movement (once you got used ever circle-strafe its simple)

http://www.buynshop.com/
http://www.redoctane.com/

is there a dvdovernight.com type company that's doing video game rentals via internet/usps?

As for your comments about Blockbuster, I totally agree that they suck, but not so much because they are a huge evil conglomorate. It's because they have the crappiest selection of movies ever; especially DVDs. I can never, ever find anything except new releases and popular/trendy movies. Their stores may be large and clean (usually), but a dirty little hole in the wall video place typically has 10 times the selection Blockbuster has. Also Blockbuster is a huge advocate of censorship.

Has anybody used RedOctane for console games? Or are there any other alternatives? How about for us canucks?

If you do want to rent video games, RedOctane offers this. I used their service for about 4 months and was generally happy with it. They frequently have stuff out of stock, but other than that it is good. I'm planning on signing back up sometime.

--
Peter Hatch

I was actually looking around at some game rental programs, and found Red Octane, which is basicly the exact same thing but for video games, with a per-month membership fee and you can have up to 2 games out at once. The only thing is that I'd be more inclined to use Red Octane for games because they have the added bonus of having just about any import (ie. where else can you find *every*, and I count 11 on their site, single Dance Dance Revolution version for rent)